Hanging Out With The Duchess

A PLACE WHERE I EXPRESS MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ON MUSIC, LIFE, EVENTS, TRAVEL, LOTR, HP, TV, NEWS, PEACE MOVEMENT, POLITICS AND EVEN MOVIES

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

PERSONAL NEWS #263

Jan 1st, I went a
got a much-needed manicure and pedicure to start off my new year.

Jan 2nd, my friend
Gail, and her doggie Sage, came over for early “tea time”, and we exchanged
gifties. Lovely visit and chatted about
many things. Afterwards, I had to head
into Manhattan, and the office, as I forgot to submit my time sheet. Then I went shopping to Lord & Taylor
with my last gift card. Got 50% off my
purchase.

Jan 3rd, had to go
into the office, as it was my last day at the firm. After 16 years, I turned in my laptop,
security badge and filled out the necessary paperwork for closure. Said my goodbyes to co-workers and then
headed to the upper eastside to enjoy a leisurely afternoon at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. The museum was crowded
with mostly tourists, but that didn’t stop me in enjoying several
exhibits. Such as the annual Neapolitan
Baroque crèche with Christmas tree, early Islamic world armor, Cypriot art, European
paintings, furniture of the gilded age, photography of Auguste Salzmann, Shaker
furniture and Fragonard drawings. Took a
break halfway through to enjoy a nice, tasty lunch at the Petrie Court
café. Then headed downtown to Stone
Creek lounge for the annual birthday gathering celebrations for Tolkien. There was a nice turnout as we ate, drank,
chatted on assorted topics and watched a documentary on Tolkien / LOTRs.

Jan 4th, I
originally had three appts today for health-related issues. Had to cancel the last one, as the 2nd
one took 4 grueling hours to complete. Started
off with a follow-up appt with my foot doctor regarding my ankle and foot. The second was the final phase of prep work
before the 8 permanent crowns are input, as well as the partials. After 4 hours, my lips were swollen and gums
in discomfort. I went home and collapsed
out of exhaustion. Slept that night for
10 hours straight and felt better the next day.

Jan 6th, I had a
much-needed chiropractor appt in the morning.
Afterwards I head to T-Mobile store to purchase a Hotspot device, so I
will have Wi-Fi access where ever I am at.

Jan 7th, I attended
the annual BFP holiday party in the evening, and it was held this year at The
Commons on Atlantic Avenue. I made my
delicious Rumballs for dessert and hardly any were left at the end of an
enjoyable evening. Despite the snowstorm
that day, it was a good turnout for the annual party.

Jan 8th, I joined
my friend Dennis in lower Manhattan, and we visited the wonderful Museum of the
American Indian. The admission is free
and we took the gallery tour.
Afterwards, we walked down Stone Street to Smorgas Chef restaurant for a
tasty, leisurely brunch. In the early
evening, I had a private yoga class at the apt with Fabrice, and then watched
“Sherlock” on PBS.

Jan 9th, I had a
physical therapy appt at noon time in lower Manhattan for issues with my ankle
and foot. On the way, back to my hood, I
had a tasty lunch at The Jungle Café.
Regarding the job hunting front, I received a phone call about a 3rd
interview with a bank set for the 17th.

Jan 11th, after a
morning of trolling the internet and applying for job openings, I headed into
Manhattan for an afternoon of leisure. I
took a free guided tour at the NY Public Library on 5th Avenue and
42nd Street, plus a video screening of what the library has to
offer. Building is gorgeous and the tour
was informative. Afterwards I headed
uptown to Rockefeller Center to see St Patrick’s cathedral on 5th
Avenue. It looks stunning since they
finished the renovations and took away the scaffolding inside and out.

Jan 13th, after my
chiropractor appt in the morning, I headed into Manhattan for an appt with a
temp / perm agency. That meeting went
well and hope to have a few job interviews lined. Stopped down to the Halloween shop in Union
Square to visit with my friend Wendy.
That evening watched a terrific episode #2 of Sleepy Hollow on tv.

Jan 14th, after
cleaning lady finished with my apt, I took care of chores / errands and then
went to B&N to purchase season three of Sleepy Hollow on DVD. Then back to my hood to get a much-needed
manicure.

Jan 15th, hung out
with some friends at a birthday dinner party off of Union Square. Good food, laughs and diverse conversation
at the Saigon Market restaurant.

Jan 16th, after my
physical therapy session for ankle/foot, I headed uptown to Times Square and my
old office. A friend of mine my old
office helped me with printing out copies of my resume on good paper, plus
sending out items to a few friends via FedEx.

Jan 17th, I did job
hunting on the internet in the morning.
Then 3rd interview with bank in the afternoon and followed by
private yoga class at apt with Fabrice.

Jan 18th, more
final phase prep work before the 8 permanent crowns are input, as well as the
partials. After 3 hours, my upper lip
was abit swollen and gums in discomfort.
Afterwards, I headed down to Union Square to meet up with an
acquaintance to pass along the four knitted Pussy Power hats for her to take to
the DC Women’s March on Saturday.

Jan 19th, I headed
into Manhattan to visit the Museum of Natural History on upper Westside. While there I took a free-guided tour with
Art at 3:15pm. I was the only one taking
the tour, so it was nice of Art to tailor it to my likes. Afterwards I had an early dinner at Nanoosh
on Broadway before heading to the anti-Trump rally / march on Central Park
West.

Jan 20th, I headed
into Manhattan to take the fascinating free-guided tour of Grand Central
Station and surrounding area. There was
30+ of us on the tour and our guides name was Mattie. Afterwards I had a late lunch near Times
Square and then checked out the Pierpont Morgan library / museum on Madison
Avenue. Nice gift shop and had a tasty
hot cup of tea in their café before heading home. Watch episode 3 from season four of Sleepy
Hollow that evening.

Jan 21st, what a
day! The Women’s March in NYC was inspiring
and awesome. At least 250,000 people
converged on NYC for this march, and one hears that 500,000 were in DC. Plus, thousands upon thousands in other
cities in the US and around the world.
WooHoo!

Jan 22nd, I had a private yoga class in the morning with
Fabrice, and did chores / errands throughout the rest of the day.

Jan 23rd, I had two phone calls in the morning with agencies
about being sent out on permanent job interviews. In the afternoon, I had a Skype interview
that went well.

Jan 24th, after job hunting and a few phones during the day, I
headed into Manhattan and my old job. A
friend who works there printed out newly updated resumes for me and we talked
about the firm. Afterwards, I headed to
the NY public library on 5th Avenue to learn about free lectures /
classes.

Jan 25th, meeting with a new job agency in the morning, followed
by physical therapy session and then to the upper Westside for lunch at
Nanoosh.

Jan 26th, my 2016 taxes are done and submitted. WooHoo!

Jan 28th, I visited the Museum of the City of New York in the
afternoon and viewed many of its interesting, informative exhibits.

Jan 29th, after a private yoga class with Fabrice, I joined some
friends in going to the movies to see an excellent film called “Hidden Figures”. This is based on a true story from 1961. I highly recommend seeing this film. Afterwards, we had dinner at the Starlight
diner off of 9th Avenue.

Jan 30th, I had a physical therapy session for my ankle/foot at
noon time. Plus, a few phone call
interviews regarding possible EA positions with two firms.Jan 31st, with two incoming phone calls, it was confirmed that I’d
be handling 2.5 months of temp work for tax season with my old job. Will start at the location next week.